What magnum do you suggest for a teen?

[blackveltbowhunter]

   By no means an expert and I learn as much from these threads as anybody. But a couple things that might help in your decision and I haven't seen mentioned are 1) Do u reload? and 2) Your shooting ability? You say profficient but thats a bit subjective, and some clarification may be in order. 3) Are you wanting to get setup down the LR shooting road, ( which you may be already ) or simply want a "beefier" caliber but still going to be a 500 yard and under guy.


   As someone just starting to dabble in LR stuff, a few things have become quickly obvious. If your not reloading. Your really not in the game. Unless you just have a ton of disposable income, and can find factory loads your gun likes.

  90 percent (or better) of the guns running around in the woods today will far outshoot the operator, but more importantly ( since the operator can fix this without big investment in shooting time) the glass mounted on it. Including my own dinky 270.

   Im with KF, If your looking to get into longrange shooting, start with fundementals, a solid, proven, and cheap caliber to reload for. And spend the money on the best glass, rangefinder, and reloading equipment you can. 
   

[jay.sharkbait]

I am very glad to have just read that because i shoot a 300 rum that i cant shoot and have bad shooting form. 
i knew i was missing something along the way... 

I love these threads

[BULLBLASTER]

I am very glad to have just read that because i shoot a 300 rum that i cant shoot and have bad shooting form. 
i knew i was missing something along the way... 

I love these threads

[pianoman9701]

I gotta say that I love the title of this thread. I'm picturing an anti-gunner seeing it and completely losing their mind.

[bobcat]

I gotta say that I love the title of this thread. I'm picturing an anti-gunner seeing it and completely losing their mind.

Even better would be "what long range high powered sniper rifle would you suggest for a teen?"

[b23]

Ok here is my advice.  Take it for what it's worth, and I'm sure it's NOT what you want to hear.

Take that $1800 bucks you got and save it for a trade school, college or continued education  #1

ok ok ok I digress..... 


baring the excellent above advice.

Take that $1800 bucks you got and buy a reloading kit,  a simple rock chucker will do.

Sell two 270's and buy a .308 Remington 700. 

Shoot the 308 until you've maxed out it's factory preformance - fine tune your loads until you just can't shoot it any better then shoot it some more.

buy a benchmark barrel,  learn how to install it.  Learn how to work loads for it   shoot shoot shoot shoot tweaking your loads as you go.

When you get more money stick a jewell trigger in it  - shoot it more


extend your range until you've got dope and cards for 1000 yards.


500 yard shot on a mule will seem easy at this point.




A big fancy gun burning gobs of powder and tossing big lead isn't going to make you a shooter, at best it's a crutch for someone who can't shoot, at worst it's going to give you bad shooting form.
 
It sounds to me like you can shoot "ok"  (and that's a good start) but you've no concept of precision long range shooting and you're trying to compensate by going bigger and larger. 
I suggest you search for a mentor or join a long range shooting group in your area.   If you only ever want to be a mediocre shooter the rest of your life buy the biggest magnum you can and punch huge nasty blood shot holes in your animals.

This is actually some pretty darn good advice.  Well done KF!

But, for precision shooting at distance, I'd change your lineup just a little.  I would sell 2 of the 3 270's you have then take the 3rd one and send it to Benchmark and have them install a new barrel on it chambered in 6.5-284.  Depending on the stock that's on it, I'd also have them, at the least, skim bed it.  Hopefully, one of the 3 is a Rem 700 because that will make a great starting point for you.  If it's a Rem 700 you can also have Benchmark tune the trigger down to a nice 2.5lbs and it will only cost you about $50.

Buy a reloading kit like KF suggested then get the reloading DVD that Shawn Carlock made and sells.  Don't worry about a 6.5-284 being  barrel burner either.  It should easily go 1500rnds with no problem as long as you give it a few moments between shots.  Throats get burnt out because of people shooting to fast without giving it time to cool a little bit.  Nothing wrong with a 308 but if shooting at distance is what you want to get into, a 6.5-284 is a better choice and you can use Lapua brass and 200rnds of Lapua brass will last you a very long time.

Get really good with shooting your 6.5-284 w/140s at distance and you may not ever need anything else and if you decide you want to go bigger at a later time, you'll be a much better shooter for it.  Also, with whatever money you have, buy the very best scope you can afford because when you start dialing up and down, you're going to want a quality scope or you'll just be throwing money and time away.

[KFhunter]

I almost said to go that route, but my thinking was he already has a 270 and shoots it pretty good..
So that won't mess with his hunting season just around the corner.   

It would suck to have your gun in pieces waiting for parts and hunting season a week away.   
So I'd suggest leaving the bread and butter hunting gun alone, and go pick up a learning rig to take apart and shoot take apart again and go shoot more.

Can't beat a 308 for that really.  6.5-284 is a bit more sexy I'll give you that but I still gotta say 308 for the first learner gun.


The idea is the same though, work his way up.

[pianoman9701]

I gotta say that I love the title of this thread. I'm picturing an anti-gunner seeing it and completely losing their mind.

Even better would be "what long range high powered sniper rifle would you suggest for a teen?"

 

[Shane54]

Yes I have given the 308 much consideration. But at 500 yards it only has 1093ft lbs of energy. To cleanly kill an elk it is recommended 1200lbs. I am looking for something that I can use to kill anything in NA at 500+ yards. And shoot at the range up to 1000. The 308 is a great caliber and a long range rifle.  Not a long range hunting rifle. This is why I am leaning towards the 300wsm.

[WoodlandShooter]

Ok here is my advice.  Take it for what it's worth, and I'm sure it's NOT what you want to hear.

Take that $1800 bucks you got and save it for a trade school, college or continued education  #1

ok ok ok I digress..... 


baring the excellent above advice.

Take that $1800 bucks you got and buy a reloading kit,  a simple rock chucker will do.

Sell two 270's and buy a .308 Remington 700. 

Shoot the 308 until you've maxed out it's factory preformance - fine tune your loads until you just can't shoot it any better then shoot it some more.

buy a benchmark barrel,  learn how to install it.  Learn how to work loads for it   shoot shoot shoot shoot tweaking your loads as you go.

When you get more money stick a jewell trigger in it  - shoot it more


extend your range until you've got dope and cards for 1000 yards.


500 yard shot on a mule will seem easy at this point.




A big fancy gun burning gobs of powder and tossing big lead isn't going to make you a shooter, at best it's a crutch for someone who can't shoot, at worst it's going to give you bad shooting form.
 
It sounds to me like you can shoot "ok"  (and that's a good start) but you've no concept of precision long range shooting and you're trying to compensate by going bigger and larger. 
I suggest you search for a mentor or join a long range shooting group in your area.   If you only ever want to be a mediocre shooter the rest of your life buy the biggest magnum you can and punch huge nasty blood shot holes in your animals.

WOW..have you been on my gun safe!!!

the ONLY difference is I used a 270 Winny, and a Weatherby MKV action, and a timney trigger...oh and I have dope to a mile!!!

[WoodlandShooter]

Yes I have given the 308 much consideration. But at 500 yards it only has 1093ft lbs of energy. To cleanly kill an elk it is recommended 1200lbs. I am looking for something that I can use to kill anything in NA at 500+ yards. And shoot at the range up to 1000. The 308 is a great caliber and a long range rifle.  Not a long range hunting rifle. This is why I am leaning towards the 300wsm.

FYI,

a 270 Winny shooting a 150 Grain NABLR at 2900 FPS has 1500 foot pounds at 525 yards, 1000 foot pounds at 825 yards, and starts going trans-sonic at 1300 yards...

a 308 is more of a medium range rifle...in reality it's toast at 900 yards. However, I know one guy make a mile shot this year at Findaly with one...but he was out of scope travel etc...etc...

[jasnt]

I like to stick to the rule of spending as much or more on a scope than the rifle.  Reloading will also improve your shooting skills because you'll be shooting way more often.  Sticking with one of the 270's is a wise choice, it will do all that your wanting it to do. You'll just need tuned to your gun ammo, high BC bullets, and lots of trigger time!!   flat shooting cartages dont do the long range guy much good. Its just a little less dial and a little more super sonic rang. All you need is quality: rifle, glass ,ammo and practice.  Quality practice means proper shooting practice. Perfect practice makes perfect. Sloppy practice makes sloppy shooting.

[WoodlandShooter]

Regarding Factory Loads in 270, IMHO, the most consistent stuff is Winchester 130 Grain BST.

It can produce 5 shot groups out of my rifle at just under 1MOA.

It does not have the energy down range you are looking for, but here is what it will do.

1500 foot pounds @ 375 yards

1000 foot pounds @ 600 yards

Trans-sonic @ 1000 yards

[RadSav]

Yes I have given the 308 much consideration. But at 500 yards it only has 1093ft lbs of energy. To cleanly kill an elk it is recommended 1200lbs. I am looking for something that I can use to kill anything in NA at 500+ yards. And shoot at the range up to 1000. The 308 is a great caliber and a long range rifle.  Not a long range hunting rifle. This is why I am leaning towards the 300wsm.

IMO, for what it is worth, I think you are leaning in a pretty good direction.  The 30 cal is a great versatile caliber and should do everything you are wanting with reserve to spare.  With exception of the Tikka most of the WSM factory actions I've played around with the magazine box and action length is rather tight.  Makes little difference if you are choosing factory ammo, but if you plan on doing a lot of 1,000 yard shooting you will probably want to start reloading some time in the future.  And that means you'll more than likely want to play with some of the wonderful high BC bullets.  That may pose a problem with factory gun chambers for a WSM cartridge.  As well as powder cramping when you get into those 200 grain plus rounds.

Both the 300WSM and the 300WM are near equals when talking about that 500 yard elk rifle.  However, in my opinion, the WinMag offers more flexibility as a 1,000 yard target/sniper rifle.  The WM's ability to accept high BC bullets well and the fact the added weight of most factory 300WM rifles makes shooting discipline and technique less an issue.  Still important!  But, a bit less of an issue.

Both cartridges are fantastic!  Both will give you what you are looking for.  And both have a niche the other does not.  Really hard to go wrong with either.  But for me personally...I'd probably go 300WM over the short mag as a dual purpose gun.  If just elk hunting that would be one tough decision.  So tough...I own both!

[WoodlandShooter]

Yes, I am definately a 270 fan!!!

My pet 150 NABLR load is running ~3000 FPS.

1500 foot pounds at 575 yards

1000 foot pounds at 875 yards

Trans-sonic at 1375 yards

Out of my rifle, a little over 0.5 MOA (pictured is a target at 200 yards)